UA plans to build $20M Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine building – Arizona Daily Star

Posted: September 24, 2019 at 7:46 am

The center is one of several new or renovation projects referenced by the university in a pair of capital improvement plans submitted to the Arizona Board of Regents ahead its two-day meeting Thursday and Friday in Flagstaff.

The new 34,000-square-foot Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine would be located northeast of the Highland Parking Garage at East Mabel Street and North Vine Avenue and provide a physical environment that supports the evidence-based philosophy of integrative medicine, according to regents documents.

Weil, a well-known health and wellness guru, is known for his methods, which complement traditional medicine with an emphasis on nutrition, lifestyle, natural therapies, spirituality and the mind-body connection.

Back in March, he pledged $15 million to put his name on the program, which he helped create more than two decades ago.

The money helped establish an endowed chair in integrative medicine, an endowed chair for research in integrative medicine and an endowed program fund for integrative medicine, all of which bear his name.

This gift marks the high point of my career, Weil said during an appearance with UA President Robert C. Robbins.

The $20 million for construction of the project would be funded through gifts, with the goal of having the bulk of the funding by the end of 2019. The current facility is at 655 N. Alvernon Way, where its been since May 2018.

Thats one of two projects included in the schools $62 million, fiscal-year 2021 capital improvement plan submitted to the regents.

The other is a $42 million renovation for the chemistry building nicknamed Old Chemistry to turn it into an integrative teaching hub, according to regents documents.

The Arizona Board of Regents approved the UAs capital improvement plan, which includes long-range ideas to improve Centennial Halls seating, audio and bathrooms.

The chemistry building was originally constructed in 1936 and has an estimated $15 million in deferred maintenance, among the highest of the schools 621 academic and support facilities, according to documents. The renovation would be funded with system revenue bonds and by using a portion of money allotted to the school by regents for deferred maintenance.

The renovation on the chemistry building is necessary because it cannot accommodate the size and scope of modern laboratory needs, said Thomas McDonald, the schools chief of staff to the office of the business affairs. He said the renovations would put the building more in line with the schools strategic plan, which was approved last year.

There are a number of buildings on campus that we have forecasted for years needing deferred maintenance, McDonald said. We have been looking to take those buildings and reintegrate them into a new use on campus.

Both projects would be in the design phase for the majority of 2020, with construction expected to start at the beginning of 2021 and last into 2022, he said.

The UA also submitted a fiscal year 2022-2023 capital improvement plan to regents for approval. The two-year outlook includes projects under consideration but doesnt include cost estimates, funding methods or time frames for completion.

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Those projects include renovations to Centennial Hall, including seating, audio, bathroom and ticket office improvements; additional graduate student housing on campus; a hotel and conference center on campus; a new facility for Arizona Public Media, as well as the information, communication and journalism schools; upgrades and repairs at Arizona Stadium; and land acquisition.

The Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine would be located northeast of the Highland Parking Garage.

Its a mixture of academic, research or student-support projects, McDonald said. Its not necessarily the only ones that could come up.

Speaking about Centennial Hall, McDonald said the UA is hoping to modernize the venue for those who attend events and for those who work and perform there. In terms of real estate, he said the university is hoping to account for limited space and rising real estate costs within the current planning boundaries.

McDonald cautioned that the capital improvement plans are fluid and are redone annually on a three-year scale. That outlook changes based on things like gifts to the university as well as shifts in the world, he said.

Every time we can, we take a moment and strategically look at an opportunity, he said. Its a constant forecast.

Old Main, the original building on the campus of the University of Arizona.

University of Arizona students on the steps of Old Main. 1896. HP-168

Hushed conversations and the rustling of papers were replaced by silence in the main reading room of the old University of Arizona Library at 1013 E. University Blvd. On Feb. 25, 1977, the building stood empty as its collections had been moved down the street to the new UA library. Construction on the original building was begun in 1924, and cost $475,000. Three subsequent additions to the building brought the square footage up to 97,000, but its library days were over. The Arizona State Museum moved into the space.

UA students, circa 1891 to 1900.

University of Arizona Old Main 1891. University of Arizona Library Special Collections. HP-165

University of Arizona students spilled out of their fraternities and dormitories for an impromptu snowball fight during the first snowfall in five years, in February 1956. From the book "Jack Sheaffer's Tucson 1945-1965."

The University of Arizona's second official infirmary was a low-slung red-brick building constructed in 1936 on the site of a former military barracks.

Soldiers training for World War I were among the first to use the University of Arizona's first official infirmary. Started in 1919, the infirmary occupied the former home of Reuben R. Schweitzer. Today, the site is occupied by the Koffler Building.

Robert F. Kennedy at the University of Arizona during his campaign tour. March 29, 1968.

Students in 1968 exit the UA's infirmary, which underwent a "face lift" the year before that included a new emergency room and accommodations for 50 beds. The building now houses the Sonett Space Sciences Building.

A 1927 view of the square outside the University of Arizona Main Gate. The drug store stands on the corner of University and Park Avenue.

The University of Arizona cavalry.

Members of the athletic staff at the University of Arizona pose on Jan. 11, 1966 at the Washington meeting of the National Collegiate Athletic Association with Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall and his brother, Rep. Morris Udall, D-Ariz. From left are: Dick Clausen, the University's athletic director; Secretary Udall; Rep. Udall; and Thomas Hall, faculty athletic representative at the Arizona University. The Udall brothers are from Tucson and graduates of the University of Arizona.

1914-57 Hank Leiber with James Fred "Pop" McKale in the 1930s, the University of Arizona's most-famous coach and first official athletic director. During that time he was twice the baseball coach, and served stints as basketball and football coach. He is a charter member of the Arizona Sports Hall of Fame.

McKale Center from the air in 1976.

McKale Center under construction on June 9, 1971.

South Hall, University of Arizona, 1901.

Students prepare to whitewash the "A" on Sentinel Peak, also known as "A" Mountain, Sept. 19, 1954.

U.S. Navy occupied Bear Down Gym during WWII. University of Arizona Library Special Collections. HP-173

Jubilant University of Arizona players hold their NCAA College Baseball World Series trophy over their heads in victory at Omaha, Nebraska, Saturday, June 19, 1976. Arizona defeated Eastern Michigan, 7-1, to take the 30th National NCAA crown. (AP Photo/Larry Stoddard)

The empty desert stretches out beyond the 40-acre University of Arizona campus in 1922. The buildings identified are (1) Engineering College, built in 1919; (2) Old Main, built in 1891; and (3) Cochise Hall, a dormitory built in 1922. Today the campus has expanded to 180 acres from Park Avenue area to Campbell Avenue. Speedway cuts diagonally across the pictures. The intersection of Speedway and Campbell is marked.

1943: Football was suspended in 1943 and 1944 due to World War II. The Desert yearbook published pages of snapshots of former Wildcats now serving in the military. The campus became home to U.S. Navy cadet pilots, who lived in Yavapai Hall, had classroom instruction campus and flight instruction Gilpin Airfield at Kino and I-10, which is now home to Costco and Walmart.

The Steward Observatory, July 1920. Courtesy University of Arizona library special collections department.

The Steward Observatory circa 1928. Courtesy University of Arizona special collections.

Sorority sisters pose for a picture during Rush Week at University of Arizona in Sept. 1968.

The Old University of Arizona Library.

A 1929 view of the square outside the University of Arizona Main Gate looking towards downtown Tucson. The photo was taken from the library's upper floor.

Nils V. "Swede" Nelson, left, shows Art Luppino the "good sportsmanship" award he will receive at dinner given by the Gridiron Club of Boston on Jan. 8, 1955. Luppino, University of Arizona tailback and one of the highest college scorers the nation has ever produced, was voted the award by sportswriters across the nation. It was the ninth award presented by Nelson, onetime Harvard football great. (AP Photo/Peter J. Carroll)

The beginning of construction of McKale Center dated January 1971, courtesy of the University of Arizona Special Collections.

Dr. Jack C. Copeland holds a Jarvik-7 artificial heart in the operating room of the University of Arizona Medical Center in Tucson, Ariz., on June 26, 1989. (AP Photo/Steve Mecker)

ARCHIVE PHOTO - Aerial view University of Arizona, Bear Down building. February 14, 1929 at 11:05 am.

ARCHIVE PHOTO - Aerial view University of Arizona, Bear Down building and field. Taken at 9:55 am. February 14, 1929.

UA coach Lute Olson hold the Divsion I NCAA Championship trophy with his team from left; Jason Lee, Miles Simon, Jason Terry, Lute, Justin Wessel, and Bennett Davison after they defeated Kentucky in the Final Four in Indianapolis.

Arizona men's basketball coach Lute Olson holds up the NCAA trophy in front of 30,000 fans inside Arizona stadium at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Ariz., Tuesday, April 1, 1997.

Comedian Jay Leno, right, gives University of Arizona head coach Lute Olson a can of "Lute Spray" for his snow-white hair during a taping of the "Tonight Show With Jay Leno," Wednesday, April 2, 1997, at NBC studios in Burbank, California. Olson and his team won the National Championship at the NCAA on Monday against Kentucky.

Nothing like a little deadline pressure in 1963: Gamma Phi Beta sorority members Carole Martin, left, Jackie Ellis and Sharon Boles prepare parts of their Homecoming float for the next day's parade.

Stewart Udall, secretary of the interior under Pres. Lyndon Johnson, speaks to students at the University of Arizona in October, 1968. Udall was a UA graduate. He was stumping for Sen. Hubert Humprhey, the Democratic nominee running for president against Republic Richard Nixon. Udall was one of history's best interior secretaries, working under presidents Kennedy and Johnson, from 1961-69. His brother Morris "Mo" Udall was the beloved U.S. congressman from Southern Arizona. He son Tom is a U.S. senator from New Mexico.

Kappa Sigma fraternity members won first place in the 1958 University of Arizona Homecoming Parade Proposition 200 category with a funeral procession in protest of the controversial ballot initiative to change the name of Arizona State College in Tempe to Arizona State University.

Civil rights leader Julian Bond ponders a questions while talking in the student union at the University of Arizona on Nov. 21, 1968. "The war in Vietnam takes black young men, in ever larger numbers, so crippled in life that they think it better than living in Harlem. With their white comrades, they burn down houses in a war 8,000 miles from home, but cannot live with whites at home."

Lyndon B. Johnson, at the University of Arizona, shepherded social issues through Congress as president, but the GOP took over after he left office.

Anne Waaser of Syracuse, NY. checks here snow skis, hoping for a good winter on Mt. Lemmon. Coeds Bonnie Rahod from Oak Park, Ill., Mary Ellen Frost of Munster, Ind., Anne Waaser of Syracuse, NY., and Ann Page of Las Vegas, NV., shared a dorm room at Sonora Hall at the University of Arizona in 1973.

"Flush Marquette" float in the 1957 UA Homecoming parade in downtown Tucson.

Davis Monthan Air Force Base firefighters spray the area around the engine of an A-7D Corsair II jet fighter after it crashed near the University of Arizona on October 26, 1978 as it was approaching D-M. It crashed on to North Highland Avenue near East Sixth Street missing Mansfeld Junior High School, background, and the UA. A car carrying two sisters was engulfed in flames killing both women. The pilot safely ejected.

Arizona baseball coach Jerry Kindall, left, celebrates with Chip Hale after Arizona beat Florida State 10-2 on June 9, 1986 to win the NCAA College World Series in Omaha.

Arizona players dog pile on each other following their 4-1 victory over South Carolina in Game 2 to win the NCAA College World Series championship in Omaha, Neb., Monday, June 25, 2012.

University of Arizona basketball coach Lute Olson with starting guard Steve Kerr in during a campus celebration of the team's 1988 NCAA Final Four appearance.

Savannah Guthrie in 1992 as a University of Arizona journalism student. The photo was taken for a guest column in the Tucson Citizen.

A snowball fight on the University of Arizona Mall on March 3, 1976.

Anderson Chevron gas station at 745 N. Park Ave. was located near the University of Arizona main gate at Third Street on June 25, 1971.

University of Arizona students listen to a commencement speaker during ceremonies at Arizona Stadium on June 1, 1966.

Arizona Stadium starts to take shape as 10,000 new seats are added to the west side along Vine Street as part of the University of Arizona's $1.4 million addition to structure on April 16, 1965. The completion date for the addition to the stadium was extended a month to October 2, 1965. The Wildcats were scheduled to play New Mexico after opening the season with three away games against Utah, Kansas and Wyoming.

Nearly 1,000 University of Arizona students rioted on May 6, 1965, after male students demanded "panties" at women's dorms. Rocks and bottles were thrown. Sixteen students were arrested.

Pitcher Taryne Mowatt is lifted by teamates after Arizona beat Tennessee during game 3 of their championship series at the 2007 College World Series at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City.

Donald Trump with girlfriend Marla Maples at a University of Arizona basketball game at McKale Center in Tucson on Dec. 27, 1990.

Bruce Crow, an engineering student from Yuma, breaks down a graph on a analog machine at the University of Arizona on March 7, 1957. Crow can turn the coordinates of the graph into numbers which can be put on a punch card and analyzed.

University of Arizona students walk around campus mixing occasionally with traffic in front of the Social Sciences building in 1959. Tucson Citizen file.

University of Arizona graduates seek out friends and family in Arizona Stadium during commencement ceremony on May 31, 1969.

University of Arizona quarterback George Malauulu scores against Baylor during the John Hancock Bowl in El Paso, Texas on Dec 31, 1992. Rick Wiley / Tucson Citizen

Alabama Gov George Wallace addresses an audience at the University of Arizona on January 9, 1964. Months before he had already announced his intention to be the presidential nominee for the 1964 Democratic Party. A year before, Wallace famously declared during his oath of office as governor,"...segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever." Photo by Jon Kamman / Tucson Citizen

UA cheerleaders ride in the back of a 1955 Chevy Bel Air during the 1966 UA Homecoming football game against BYU at Arizona Stadium. It started in 1914, ebbed and flowed through the years due to wars, apathy or societal forces, but it remains strong today: The University of Arizona Homecoming week. See 100 images from 100 years of UA Homecoming at tucson.com/retrotucson

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Contact reporter Justin Sayers at jsayers1@tucson.com or 573-4192. Twitter:

@_JustinSayers. Facebook: JustinSSayers.

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UA plans to build $20M Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine building - Arizona Daily Star

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